List of Exo members

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Suho (Hangul: 수호; hanja: 守護) is the leader of EXO-K.[2] Born Kim Junmyeon (Hangul: 김준면; hanja: 金俊勉) on (1991-05-22) May 22, 1991 (age 23)[3] in Seoul, South Korea. Suho was an active student and earned good grades during grade school. He was the class president at his primary school and the vice chairman at his high school.[4] At sixteen, he became the first member of EXO to become a trainee at SM,[5] and was discovered through the company's street casting system in 2006. In 2007, Suho was cast as an extra in the Super Junior film, Attack on the Pin-Up Boys, and in 2008, he made a brief appearance in TVXQ's music video, "HaHaHa Song" with fellow Exo bandmates Kai and Chanyeol. Suho was cast as the lead in the Christmas movie Saving Santa, dubbing the voice of the main character Bernard, along with A-Pink's Jung Eunji and Shin Dong-Yeob.

On February 15, 2012, Suho was introduced as the tenth member of EXO.[6] Pursuing a degree in acting, he currently attends Korea National University of Arts and is ranked in the top 50 of 400 students at the school.[7] He enjoys listening to funk rock and has expressed his admiration for Super Junior's leader, Leeteuk, and TVXQ's leader, U-Know Yunho.[8] In February 2014, Suho became an mc of popular music show Inkigayo[9] alongside fellow bandmember Baekhyun and also ZE:A's Kwanghee. They were later joined by actress Kim Yoo Jung. Both Suho and Baekhyun left the show on November 16th 2014 to focus on EXO's comeback in 2015.

Baekhyun (Hangul: 변백현; hanja: 邊伯賢), born Byun Baekhyun on (1992-05-06) May 6, 1992 (age 22)[3] in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, is the main vocalist of Exo-K.[10] He is a former pupil of Jungwon High School. Baekhyun was a member of the school's band and attended several musical festivals, later winning an award at a local rock festival. He joined S.M. Entertainment in 2011 through the S.M. Casting System.[11] Baekhyun was studying for his college musical entrance exams when he joined the label.[5]

Baekhyun was one of the last members to join EXO,[4] and was revealed as the group's ninth member on January 30, 2012.[12] Byun has cited Rain as one of his main influences and hopes to emulate Rain's "well-rounded" success.[11]

In June 2014, Baekhyun and fellow S.M. artist Taeyeon from Girls' Generation were reported by Korean media to be dating and SM Entertainment confirmed that they had been in a relationship since February.[14]

Chanyeol (Hangul: 박찬열; hanja: 朴燦烈), born Park Chanyeol on (1992-11-27) November 27, 1992 (age 22)[3] in Seoul, South Korea, is one of the main rappers of EXO and the main rapper of its sub-group EXO-K.[15] He attended Hyundai Chungun High School in Dong-gu, Ulsan and was admitted to a private acting institution when he was sixteen years old.[5] Chanyeol has been a fan of musical instruments since his primary school years and has cited the film School of Rock to be his main influence in inspiring him to learn the drums.

During middle school, Chanyeol formed the band "Heavy Noise" with his friends.[4] After winning second place in a televised uniform modeling contest in 2008,[16] Chanyeol successfully auditioned for S.M. Entertainment through the S.M. Casting System. During this time, he was involved in his school's band, "Seiren."[4] He made several media appearances prior to his debut with Exo, including TVXQ's music video, "HaHaHa Song" with Suho and Kai in 2008, and in 2010, he starred in the music video of Girls' Generation Japanese single, "Genie". He was also featured as a cameo in Girls' Generation-TTS's Twinkle's music video along with fellow members Kai, Sehun, and Baekhyun.

Chanyeol was the twelfth and last member of EXO to be formally introduced to the public, on February 23, 2012. He cites Jason Mraz and Eminem to be his biggest influences[17] Chanyeol guest starred in the second episode of the 2013 sitcom, Royal Villa, with fellow member Sehun. He also appeared in K.Will music video.

D.O. (Korean: 디오) is one of the main vocalist of EXO and main vocalist of its sub-group EXO-K, known for his singing skill.[18] Born Do Kyungsoo (Hangul: 도경수; hanja: 都暻秀) on (1993-01-12) January 12, 1993 (age 22)[3] in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. D.O. has been singing since primary school and was an avid participant in local singing competitions throughout his high school career. In 2010, he was recommended to audition for S.M. Entertainment after winning at a local singing festival.[19] He subsequently became an S.M. Entertainment trainee during his last two years of high school.[4] He performed Na Yoon-kwon's "Anticipation" and Browneyed Soul's "My Story" at his S.M. audition.[19]

D.O. was formally introduced as the eighth member of Exo on January 30, 2012.[12] His stage name is derived from his family name, Do.[20] He sees Yoo Young-jin, S.M.'s music producer, as his role model.[21] On July 29, 2013, he was featured in f(x)'s song "Goodbye Summer", a track from their album Pink Tape. D.O. also had his feature film debut in the movie Cart. He played the role of Han Kang Woo in the Korean drama 'It's Okay, That's Love'.[22]

Kai (Korean: 카이) was born Kim Jongin (Hangul: 김종인; hanja: 金鍾仁) on (1994-01-14) January 14, 1994 (age 21)[3] in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, South Korea. The second Exo member to sign with S.M. Entertainment, Kai joined the company after winning in the 10th S.M. Youth Best Contest in 2007, at thirteen years old. He said that it was Shinhwa who inspired him to be a singer.[19]

Known as the group's main dancer, Kai has been dancing since he was eight years old and was trained in jazz dance and ballet. He stated that his parents initially wanted him to learn Taekwondo and the piano, but he quickly lost interest in both. After watching The Nutcracker when he was in fourth grade, Kai expressed his wish to study ballet professionally. He developed his current technical expertise of hip hop, popping, and locking after joining S.M. Entertainment.[19] In 2008, Kai made a brief appearance in TVXQ's music video, "HaHaHa Song" along with Exo's Suho, Chanyeol and Luhan.

Kai was the first of twelve Exo members to be formally introduced to the public through teaser trailers. His first teaser was released on December 23, 2011.[23] He appeared in twelve more trailers released in the next three months, and had his first televised performance with Exo-M's Lu Han, Chen and Tao on SBS's Gayo Daejun event on December 29, 2011. Kai graduated from School of Performing Arts Seoul in February 2012.

Kai is also associated with the promotional singing group, Younique Unit, with Exo-M's Lu Han, and S.M. Entertainment's dance group, S.M. The Performance, with Exo-M's Lay. He also appeared as a cameo on TaeTiSeo's Twinkle MV with fellow members Sehun, Baekhyun and Chanyeol. He was featured in Lee Taemin's song "Pretty Boy".[24]

Sehun (Hangul: 오세훈; hanja: 吳世勳), born Oh Sehun on (1994-04-12) April 12, 1994 (age 20)[3] in Seoul, South Korea. Sehun was scouted by a casting agent on the streets when he was twelve, and was finally cast into S.M. Entertainment in 2008, after going through four auditions in two years. On January 10, 2012, he was introduced as the fifth member of EXO.[25] Sehun made a brief appearance in Girls' Generation-TTS's music video for "Twinkle" alongside fellow members Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Kai. He graduated from the School of Performing Arts Seoul in February 2013. Sehun starred as a cameo and guest in the second episode of the 2013 sitcom, Royal Villa, with fellow member Chanyeol.

In 2007, at age 16, Wu auditioned for S.M. Entertainment's Canadian S.M. Global Auditions, which was held in Vancouver, British Columbia on October 14, 2007. He was attending Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School at the time of the casting. After passing the auditions, he moved to South Korea the following year and became an S.M. trainee. Prior to joining EXO, he made an appearance in an intermission video for the Girls' Generation Tour in 2011.

As of May 15, 2014, Kris has filed a lawsuit against S.M. Entertainment to terminate his contract, which is based on a disagreement towards activities between himself and S.M. The idol had been treated as if he was an object rather than being respected as an artist. Wu Yi Fan's side also mention that SM one-sidedly decided on the schedules, not giving thought to his opinion or health condition. As they believe that SM is restricting Kris from his basic human right to freedom and his choices career wise.[30]

On February 5, 2015, S.M. Entertainment took legal actions against Kris (Wu Yifan) and Luhan, inactive members of EXO-M, for continuing their own activities in China. Currently, S.M. Entertainment is embroiled in a contract termination lawsuit against Kris and Luhan. Despite the lawsuit and having ceased activities as an EXO-M member, the two entertainers have continued activities in China as actors.[31]

On February 6, 2015, S.M. Entertainment failed to reach an agreement with Wu Yi Fan after 4 meditation rounds.[32]

Xiumin (Chinese: 秀敏; pinyin: Xiùmǐn; Korean: 시우민), born Kim Minseok (Hangul: 김민석; hanja: 金珉錫) on (1990-03-26) March 26, 1990 (age 24),[3] is from Guri, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. In 2008, at age 18, he was cast into S.M. Entertainment after winning second place in the S.M. Everysing Contest. Xiumin was formally introduced as the seventh member of Exo on January 26, 2012.[33] He also practices taekwondo and kendo.[28] Xiumin was featured on the music video of "Gone" by JIN, alongside actress Kim Yoo-jung.[34]

While studying in Seoul, Lu Han was scouted by an S.M. Entertainment casting agent, who recommended him to audition for the company's annual S.M. Casting System. His audition was successful, and Lu Han joined Exo in 2011. Lu was the second of the twelve Exo members to be formally introduced to the public, on December 27, 2011.[37] Along with Tao, Chen, and Exo-K's Kai, Lu Han made his first televised performance on SBS's Gayo Daejun event on December 29, 2011. Lu Han currently attends the Seoul Institute of the Arts majoring in Applied Music. Lu Han is also associated with the promotional dance group, Younique Unit, with Exo-K's Kai. On April 23 Luhan was announced to be cast in 20 Once Again a Chinese re-make of the Korean movie Miss Granny.[38] Shooting started May 20, 2014 and the film was released on January 8, 2015.[39]

On October 10, 2014 Luhan filed a lawsuit to nullify his exclusive contract with S.M. Entertainment, allegedly for health reasons.[40]

On February 5, 2015, S.M. Entertainment took legal actions against Kris (Wu Yifan) and Luhan, former members of EXO-M, for continuing their own activities in China. Currently, S.M. Entertainment is embroiled in a contract termination lawsuit against Kris and Luhan. Despite the lawsuit and having ceased activities as an EXO-M member, the two entertainers have continued activities in China as actors.[31]

On February 6, 2015 S.M. Entertainment failed to reach an agreement with Luhan after 3 meditation rounds.[32]

Lay (Korean: 레이), born Zhang Yixing (Chinese: 张艺兴; pinyin: Zhāng Yìxīng) on (1991-10-07) October 7, 1991 (age 23),[3] is from Changsha, Hunan, China. He is the main dancer of Exo-M. Lay was a local child star in Hunan, having won third place in a competition hosted by the popular TV program, Star Academy (明星学院) in 2005. He also appeared in an episode of Yue Ce Yue Kai Xin (越策越开心) and Liu Na's variety show, Na Ke Bu Yi Yang (娜可不一样) that same year.

Lay joined S.M. Entertainment in 2008 after a successful audition with the company's global casting system in Changsha. At the time of the auditions, he was 16 years old and was studying for his college entrance exams.[28] In 2011, prior to debuting with Exo, he briefly worked for SHINee in their concert tour as Jonghyun's dance replacement. Lay was formally introduced as a member of Exo on January 17, 2012.[41] He is also associated with the dance group, S.M. The Performance, with Exo-K's Kai. For the June 19th edition of "Music Billboard Charts," Lay was a special temporary MC.[42]

Chen (Korean: 첸) is the main vocalist of Exo-M. Born Kim Jongdae (Hangul: 김종대; hanja: 金鐘大) on (1992-09-21) September 21, 1992 (age 22)[3] in Siheung, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, Chen has one older brother, Kim Jong-deok. Chen was the last Exo member scouted by S.M. Entertainment; he auditioned for S.M. through the S.M. Casting System in early 2011, at age 18.

Chen was the fourth member to be formally introduced to the public, on December 29, 2011.[43] Along with Lu Han, Tao, and Exo-K's Kai, Chen had his first televised performance at the SBS Gayo Daejun event on December 29, 2011. On February 4, 2014, SM revealed that the group "SM The Ballad" would make a comeback with new members, including Chen. He sang the Chinese version of the title track, Breath with Zhang Liyin.[44]

Tao (Korean: 타오), born Huang Zitao (Chinese: 黄子韬; pinyin: Huáng Zitāo) on (1993-05-02) May 2, 1993 (age 21)[3] in Qingdao, Shandong, China. Also known as Edison Huang, is the main rapper of Exo-M. He attended Humen Centre Primary School, one of the most prestigious primary schools in Qingdao, and Qingdao Middle School. Tao is a martial artist, and has been practicing Wushu since he was five years old.[45] He competed in several martial arts championships in Qingdao, and won the "Top Rap Award" at Beijing 3rd Annual Collage Street Jam.[citation needed]

Tao auditioned for S.M. Entertainment's global casting system in Qingdao and became an S.M. trainee in late 2010. He was one of the last Exo members to join S.M. Entertainment and had a training period of less than one year.[28] On December 27, 2011, Tao was formally introduced to the public as the third member of Exo.[46] Along with Lu Han, Chen, and Exo-K's Kai, Tao made his first televised performance on SBS Gayo Daejeon event on December 29, 2011.

In June 2014, Tao was spotted filming for Zhang Li Yin's music video for her single Agape, alongside labelmate Victoria of f(x). Tao was cast as the male lead, playing Victoria's grown up son. The music video was released on early August 2014. In July 2014, it was confirmed that Tao will be joining the Solomon Island edition of Laws of the Jungle. It is set to air on September 2014, replacing the Indian Ocean portion of the show. [46][47][48]